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San Diego's version of a Super PAC has hit the middle ground and is running.
Today, a group of successful San Diego business and community leaders announced the launch of "Movement to the Middle."
"We want an end to the relentless divisiveness and bitter partisan battles that have caused gridlock in government," reads the group's new website.
"The voice of the moderate majority has been drowned out by the constant rhetoric and dogma from partisan extremes. Sign up to support the voice of the middle - a voice that believes in progress driven through thoughtful solutions and compromise. At our core, we are fiscally conservative and socially progressive – a position and a place where many of us reside but neither party is willing to visit. Join us and together we can define the next generation of political cooperation and progress."
According to the group's press release, it was Nathan Fletcher's decision to jump ship from the GOP that inspired the group's formation.
The press release reads: "The genesis of the coalition was the announcement by California Assemblymember Nathan Fletcher, a candidate in the San Diego mayor’s race, that he was leaving the Republican and going independent.
Fletcher’s denouncement of partisan politics provoked harsh reactions from leaders of the local Republican and Democratic parties, but crystallized a growing sentiment among political moderates that excessive partisanship was blocking progress and forcing good candidates to pander to political extremists.
But coalition members stress that Movement to the Middle goes beyond the local mayor’s race; it’s an effort to ensure political independents as well as centrist Democrats and Republicans have a prominent voice in politics, better reflecting the largely moderate electorate.
“What Nathan did was an incredibly bold move that gave voice to what so many of us were already feeling – not just in the mayor’s race, but in state and national politics as well,” said Dan Shea, Donovan’s president and CEO and co-founder of Movement to the Middle. “You can sit around complaining, or you can stand up and say, ‘We’re not going to accept this anymore.’ Moderates are the majority, and in a democracy, you alienate the majority at your peril.”
Members of the group include Doug Carlson, founder of Fiji Water, Mike Alfred, CEO of Brightscope, Jon Dunlap, director of the San Diego Zoo, Brian Malarkey, former contestant on Top Chef turned restauranteur, as well as executives at Qualcomm, SDG&E, and a list of other companies.
The group's press contact happens to be former Mayor Sanders spokesperson, Rachel Laing, who left the Mayor's Office for newly established public affairs group/lobbyist, Public Policy Strategies.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/25/23476/
San Diego's version of a Super PAC has hit the middle ground and is running.
Today, a group of successful San Diego business and community leaders announced the launch of "Movement to the Middle."
"We want an end to the relentless divisiveness and bitter partisan battles that have caused gridlock in government," reads the group's new website.
"The voice of the moderate majority has been drowned out by the constant rhetoric and dogma from partisan extremes. Sign up to support the voice of the middle - a voice that believes in progress driven through thoughtful solutions and compromise. At our core, we are fiscally conservative and socially progressive – a position and a place where many of us reside but neither party is willing to visit. Join us and together we can define the next generation of political cooperation and progress."
According to the group's press release, it was Nathan Fletcher's decision to jump ship from the GOP that inspired the group's formation.
The press release reads: "The genesis of the coalition was the announcement by California Assemblymember Nathan Fletcher, a candidate in the San Diego mayor’s race, that he was leaving the Republican and going independent.
Fletcher’s denouncement of partisan politics provoked harsh reactions from leaders of the local Republican and Democratic parties, but crystallized a growing sentiment among political moderates that excessive partisanship was blocking progress and forcing good candidates to pander to political extremists.
But coalition members stress that Movement to the Middle goes beyond the local mayor’s race; it’s an effort to ensure political independents as well as centrist Democrats and Republicans have a prominent voice in politics, better reflecting the largely moderate electorate.
“What Nathan did was an incredibly bold move that gave voice to what so many of us were already feeling – not just in the mayor’s race, but in state and national politics as well,” said Dan Shea, Donovan’s president and CEO and co-founder of Movement to the Middle. “You can sit around complaining, or you can stand up and say, ‘We’re not going to accept this anymore.’ Moderates are the majority, and in a democracy, you alienate the majority at your peril.”
Members of the group include Doug Carlson, founder of Fiji Water, Mike Alfred, CEO of Brightscope, Jon Dunlap, director of the San Diego Zoo, Brian Malarkey, former contestant on Top Chef turned restauranteur, as well as executives at Qualcomm, SDG&E, and a list of other companies.
The group's press contact happens to be former Mayor Sanders spokesperson, Rachel Laing, who left the Mayor's Office for newly established public affairs group/lobbyist, Public Policy Strategies.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/25/23476/